Table 2.
Demographic data, severity of CSU, laboratory values including thyroid autoantibody results, treatment regimens, disease duration according to the presence of autoimmune chronic urticaria, and results of autologous skin testing.
| Characteristics | CAU (+) | CAU (-) | p-value | ASST (+) | ASST (-) | p-value | APST (+) | APST (-) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n = 101 | n = 24 | n = 91 | n = 34 | n = 88 | n = 37 | ||||
| Gender [n = 300], n (%) | 0.740 | 1.000 | 0.580 | ||||||
| Male | 13 (12.9) | 4 (16.7) | 13 (14.3) | 4 (11.8) | 11 (12.5) | 6 (16.2) | |||
| Female | 88 (87.1) | 20 (83.3) | 78 (85.7) | 30 (88.2) | 77(87.5) | 31 (83.8) | |||
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| Age at onset (years) [n = 296], mean (SD) | 0.027∗ | 0.145 | 0.087 | ||||||
| ≤ 35, n (%) | 63 (62.4) | 9 (37.5) | 56 (61.5) | 16 (47.1) | 55 (62.5) | 17 (46.0) | |||
| > 35, n (%) | 38 (37.6) | 15 (62.5) | 35 (38.5) | 18 (52.9) | 33 (37.5) | 20 (54.1) | |||
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| Duration of symptoms (months) [n=291], median (range) | 6 (1.5, 360) | 11 (1.5, 120) | 0.265 | 6 (1.5, 360) | 11 (1.5, 120) | 0.225 | 5 (1.5, 144) | 8 (1.5, 360) | 0.185 |
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| History of NSAID hypersensitivity [n=300], n (%) | 4 (4.0) | 2 (8.3) | 0.325 | 4 (4.4) | 2 (5.88) | 0.663 | 3 (3.4) | 3 (8.11) | 0.360 |
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| History of atopy [n =129), n (%) | 34 (59.7) | 7 (41.2) | 0.179 | 33 (63.5) | 8 (36.4) | 0.032∗ | 30 (57.7) | 11 (50.0) | 0.543 |
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| History of systemic symptoms [n = 195], n (%) | 29 (34.5) | 3 (14.3) | 0.072 | 26 (33.8) | 6 (21.4) | 0.225 | 26 (35.1) | 6 (19.4) | 0.109 |
| Angioedema | 30 (35.7) | 3 (14.3) | 0.058 | 27 (35.1) | 6 (21.4) | 0.183 | 27 (36.5) | 6 (19.4) | 0.085 |
| Anaphylaxis | 1 (1.2) | 0 (0) | 1.000 | 1 (1.3) | 0 (0) | 1.000 | 1 (1.4) | 0 (0) | 1.000 |
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| Dermographism [n = 186], n (%) | 21 (30.4) | 9 (42.9) | 0.290 | 19 (31.2) | 11 (38.0) | 0.523 | 20 (33.3) | 10 (33.3) | 1.000 |
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| Duration of daily attacks (hours) [n=97], median (range) | 4 (0.5, 24) | 2.5 (1, 8) | 0.276 | 5 (0.5, 24) | 2 (0.5, 12) | 0.117 | 4 (0.5, 24) | 3 (1, 12) | 0.457 |
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| Frequency of attacks [n=216], n (%) | 0.086 | 0.011∗ | 0.006∗ | ||||||
| ≤ 4 days per week | 16 (18.4) | 8 (36.4) | 12 (15.4) | 12 (38.7) | 11 (14.7) | 13 (38.2) | |||
| > 4days per week | 71 (81.6) | 14 (63.6) | 66 (84.6) | 19 (61.3) | 64 (85.3) | 21 (61.8) | |||
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| Wheal size [n = 79], n (%) | 0.716 | 0.318 | 0.759 | ||||||
| ≤ 1.25 cm | 12 (23.1) | 2 (14.3) | 12 (25.5) | 2 (10.5) | 10 (22.7) | 4 (18.2) | |||
| > 1.25 cm | 40 (76.9) | 12 (85.7) | 35 (74.5) | 17 (89.5) | 34 (77.3) | 18 (81.8) | |||
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| Number of wheals [n = 69], n (%) | 0.051 | 0.232 | 0.085 | ||||||
| ≤ 7 wheals | 12 (26.1) | 8 (57.1) | 12 (28.6) | 8 (44.4) | 10 (25.6) | 10 (47.6) | |||
| > 7 wheals | 34 (73.9) | 6 (42.9) | 30 (71.4) | 10 (55.6) | 29 (74.4) | 11 (52.4) | |||
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| Severity of itch∗∗ [n = 78], n (%) | 1.000 | 1.000 | 0.520 | ||||||
| None to mild | 11 (21.6) | 3 (23.1) | 10 (21.3) | 4 (23.5) | 8 (18.6) | 6 (28.6) | |||
| Moderate to severe | 40 (78.4) | 10 (76.9) | 37 (78.7) | 13 (76.5) | 35 (81.4) | 15 (71.4) | |||
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| Impairment of work [n = 76], n (%) | 34 (65.4) | 12 (85.7) | 0.197 | 29 (61.7) | 17 (89.5) | 0.026∗ | 29 (65.9) | 17 (77.3) | 0.344 |
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| Disturbance of sleep [n = 76], n (%) | 37 (71.2) | 9 (64.3) | 0.745 | 35 (74.5) | 11 (57.9) | 0.185 | 32 (72.7) | 14 (63.6) | 0.449 |
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| High ESR [n = 133], n (%) | 15 (36.6) | 4 (36.4) | 1.000 | 15 (41.7) | 4 (25.0) | 0.249 | 14 (35.9) | 5 (38.5) | 1.000 |
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| ANA titer ≥ 1:320 (+) [n = 232], n (%) | 9 (11.0) | 0 (0) | 0.357 | 8 (10.7) | 1 (4.0) | 0.444 | 8 (11.6) | 1 (3.2) | 0.267 |
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| TA (+) [n = 72], n (%) | 20 (19.8) | 7 (29.2) | 0.316 | 18 (19.8) | 9 (26.5) | 0.419 | 18 (20.5) | 9 (24.3) | 0.631 |
| Anti-TPO (+) [n = 53], n (%) | 17 (16.8) | 4 (16.7) | 1.000 | 15 (16.5) | 6 (17.7) | 0.877 | 15 (17.1) | 6 (16.2) | 0.910 |
| Anti- Tg (+) [n = 55], n (%) | 14 (13.9) | 5 (20.8) | 0.363 | 12 (13.2) | 7 (20.6) | 0.305 | 13 (14.8) | 6 (16.2) | 0.837 |
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| Treatment regimen, [n = 295], n (%) | 0.069 | 0.873 | 0.017∗ | ||||||
| H1 antagonist(s), standard dose | 41 (41.8) | 15 (62.5) | 40 (45.5) | 16 (47.1) | 33 (38.8) | 23 (62.2) | |||
| H1 antagonist(s), any exceeding standard dose | 57 (58.2) | 9 (37.5) | 48 (54.6) | 18 (52.9) | 52 (61.2) | 14 (37.8) | |||
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| Disease duration > 12 months [n= 131], n (%) | 37 (84.1) | 12 (85.7) | 1.000 | 34 (85.0) | 15 (83.3) | 1.000 | 33 (84.6) | 16 (84.2) | 1.000 |
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| Disease duration > 18 months [n= 101], n (%) | 23 (76.7) | 10 (83.30 | 1.000 | 20 (76.9) | 13 (81.3) | 1.000 | 21 (77.8) | 12 (80.0) | 1.000 |
∗∗ The definition of severity of itch: none = no itch, mild = present but not annoying or troublesome, moderate = troublesome but does not interfere with normal daily activity or sleep, severe = sufficiently troublesome to interfere with normal daily activity or sleep.
Abbreviations Used in Table 2. ANA: antinuclear antibody, Anti-Tg: antithyroglobulin antibody (normal range = 0-115 IU/mL), Anti-TPO: antithyroid peroxidase antibody (normal range = 0-34 IU/mL), APST: autologous plasma skin test, ASST: autologous serum skin test, CAU: Chronic autoimmune urticaria, ESR: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (normal range = 0-20 mm/hr), NSAID = nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, and TA = Thyroid autoimmunity.